Weekly Prophecy Review

In the News...

• The United Methodist church is the third largest denomination in America. Yet, its 8.5 million membership supports only 320 full-time overseas missionaries. These are apparently well supervised, however, as the church's mission board has 430 people in its headquarters staff. In addition, the United Methodist lobby office in Washington includes over 50 church staffers. By comparison, the Southern Baptists, who have twice the membership, employ four lobbyists and support 4,000 missionaries.

• Speaking of missionary activity, Religion Today reports there are now more former Muslims who have converted to Christianity than at any other time in history.

• The Hilton company has commissioned architects to design a hotel for the moon.

• Thousands protested in Jerusalem this week, demanding the Israeli government not bow to U.S. pressure to cede more land in Judea and Samaria. Leaders warned that if Netanyahu gives in to that pressure, the government will be toppled. According to MK Benny Begin, "A government that abandons a portion of our homeland does not have the right to exist!"

• Speaking of bowing to pressure, Vice-president Al Gore, did not meet with Arafat on Friday immediately after Israel's 50th anniversary celebrations as he had planned. He waited until Saturday.

• On the subject of Arafat: In an April interview on Egyptian television, the Palestinian leader compared the Oslo Accords to an agreement Mohammad made with the Arabian tribe of Koreish. By calling the Oslo agreement an "inferior peace," he was making reference to a 10-year agreement which the prophet once signed—and broke two years later, when the forces of Islam had grown strong enough to succeed.

• A New York Times poll indicated that 58% of Americans sympathized with Israel over the Palestinians (up 10% from last year). Only 13% supported the Palestinians. Almost half of the Americans polled saw Israel as a "special place."

Israel celebrates its 50th anniversary as a sovereign nation

This week there were celebrations in all 163 nations where Israel has relations. This included, believe it or not, Jordan and Iran. Washington D.C.'s Union station was decorated with 7 ½ meter Israeli flags, and 70,000 people attended a celebration at the Boston Commons.

Some may wonder why so much attention is given to Israel. After all, it is a small nation with a population of just over 5.9 million. Let me suggest some reasons why Israel is now, and will continue to be, in the world's spotlight.

According to the Bible, Israel is the center of the earth. It will surprise many in this country to learn that God does not consider Himself an American, nor is America His land. Often I have heard well-meaning teachers proclaim the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the only hope for this nation: "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." While the principle is valid—God does deal with nations based on their relationship to Him (witness the episode of Jonah and Nineveh)—this promise was, nevertheless, given to just one nation, i.e., Israel.

The harsh reality is that God looks at the nations from a different perspective than most might imagine. According to the prophet Ezekiel, it is the people of Israel who reside "at the center of the world" (Exekiel 38:12). Moreover, God views Jerusalem (not Washington) as the city which is at the center of the world. "Thus says the Lord God, 'This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her'" (Ezekiel 5:5). Isn't it interesting that despite this declaration in Scripture, President Clinton adamantly refuses to allow the U.S. embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—even though the congress has passed a law requiring him to do so? (And he thinks the Office of the Independent Council is tough to death with...)

Israel is "the minute hand on God's prophetic clock." Between 135 A.D. and 1948, there was no nation of Israel. During that time, it was, no doubt, difficult to imagine how hundreds of end-time prophecies about the nation of Israel might be fulfilled. It is also understandable that, during that period, many moved toward a spiritualized approach to interpreting prophecy. Specifically, they reasoned that the prophecies for national Israel must apply to the church. But since 1948—when Israel became a nation—the need to spiritualize those prophecies has ceased to exist. In other words, there is no longer any reason for not taking seriously what God said He would do regarding Israel in the last days. For instance,

The Lord said to me, "Prophesy over these bones [according to verse 11, they represent the whole house of Israel], and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'" "Thus says the Lord to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. And I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive...'" (Ezekiel 37:4-6).

Therefore prophecy, and say to them, "Thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel'" (Ezekiel 37:12).

So, exactly 50 years ago, the world saw the first stages of end-time prophecy being fulfilled. As to how long before the end-time process is completed and the Lord returns, no one knows. But at least we can say that, since May 14, 1948, God's end-time prophetic clock has been ticking away.

God has never forgotten, nor will He ever forget, the nation of Israel. In a remarkable declaration, Jeremiah laid out God's position on the nation of Israel: "Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day, and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night..." "If this fixed order departs from before Me," declares the Lord, "then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever" (Jeremiah 31:35-36). Here are some evidences that God's hand has been on Israel throughout history:

1. God prophesied the exact date when Israel would become a nation. In his book, Armageddon, Appointment with Destiny, Grant Jeffrey, points out that by combining a prophecy in Ezekiel 4:4- 8 with the punishments outlined in Leviticus 26, we are able to see that May 14, 1948 was the precise day Israel's long punishment for breaking the Sinai Covenant was completed. At that point the curse was over. What happened next? God fulfilled another prophecy and made Israel a nation again: "Then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land" (Leviticus 26:42).

2. God has caused numerous significant events to occur on the same day. For instance, on the 9th day of the Jewish month of Av, the following historical events took place:

• The twelve spies returned with their report on Canaan, which led to the nation's condemnation and death in the wilderness.
• The destruction of Solomon's Temple in 587 B.C.
• The destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D.
• England expelled all the Jews in 1290 A.D.
• Spain expelled all the Jews in 1492 A.D.
• World War One is declared, initiating persecution against the Jews in eastern Russia.

Bottom line, we plan to keep our eyes on Israel and encourage you to do the same.

Till He returns...

Posted May 3, 1998 by Larry Simmons